Announced earlier this year, Alias|Wavefront has shipped Maya Personal Learning Edition. This version of Maya allows students and other non-commercial users to work with Maya. There are significant restrictions on the use of the software, so check out the license first. From Alias|Wavefront:
Alias|Wavefront today announced that it has made available the Maya Personal Learning Edition(tm) which provides users of Microsoft(r) Windows and Mac(r) OS X with free access to a personal-use, non-commercial version of Maya(r).. In the six weeks since the product was announced, over 67,000 pre-registrations for the software have been received.
Maya Personal Learning Edition gives 3D graphics and animation students, current industry professionals, and those interested in breaking into the world of computer graphics (CG) an opportunity to explore the award-winning Maya Complete(tm) software, in a non-commercial capacity. Current support for those using Maya Personal Learning Edition takes the form of a web-based resource center that provides access to learning materials, discussion forums, content exchanges where users can share work and download free sample files, and galleries in which Maya Personal Learning Edition users may exhibit their projects. The resource center also becomes available effective immediately at www.aliaswavefront.com/maya/ple/resource.
Maya Personal Learning Edition
Maya Personal Learning Edition grants anyone with the desire to learn more about Maya, or 3D computer graphics in general, a free version of Maya for personal, non-commercial use. It is Alias|Wavefrontis intention to enable users to renew their Maya Personal Learning Edition licenses annually. Those using the Personal Learning Edition will have full access to the toolsets of Maya Complete including NURBS modeling, animation, inverse kinematics, Maya Artisan(tm), Maya Paint Effects(tm), particles, dynamics and Mayais advanced rendering capabilities. Also included is the capability to author and preview interactive 3D content for Macromedia(r) Director(r) 8.5 Shockwave(r) Studio via special implementations of the Maya Shockwave 3D Exporter(tm) and the Maya Real-Time Author(tm).
Maya Personal Learning Edition users are contractually confined to personal, non-commercial applications; moreover, the display of a watermark on images and the use of a special non-commercial file format enforce these restrictions. Also Maya Personal Learning Edition does not ship with the Maya API and cannot be used with standard plug-ins. Use of the software is restricted to personal, non-commercial applications only: use in schools and training center classrooms/labs or courses is considered commercial use. As such, educational institutions and training facilities should contact their local sales office for more information about Alias|Wavefront’s current academic and training center programs
Pricing and Availability
Maya Personal Learning Edition may be downloaded free of charge beginning today. By the end of March CD copies will be available from the Alias|Wavefront online store, www.aliaswavefrontstore.com at a cost of USD $5 plus shipping and handling.
You can find more information and download links on the software at Alias|Wavefrontis Web site.